Talkin' Trash (Bear Bottom Guardians MC 2)

I knew better than anyone that all it took was one time.

Although irresponsible of me, I couldn’t find it inside of me to care that we hadn’t done the safest thing in the world.

Though, I wasn’t worried about anything other than having the whole kid thing. Linc was clean. I knew it just as well as he knew that I was.

There were no doubts in either of our minds.

“Then why does it say you are?” he challenged.

I leveled him with an ‘are you kidding me?’ look. “You do realize that gossip rags publish stuff that’s not true all the time?”

Steel’s jaw flexed. “It was the local newspaper where he saw it first.”

I shrugged. “I had a bad date with a doctor I work with, and Linc saved me. Dinner turned into more. And the doctor made presumptions without looking for, or hearing, the facts. It’s not like I purposefully set out to rattle the cage, so to speak.”

There was a long pause.

“It was that friend of yours that let this particular cat out of the bag, wasn’t it?” he accused.

That’s when the smile broke out over my face. “It wasn’t Pru this time, it was Phoebe.” I paused. “Her little sister who’s also in nursing school.”

Steel groaned.

“Who are these Phoebe and Pru characters?” Jessie finally spoke.

My smile stayed in place, despite the question. “I work with Pru. I lived with her for a few weeks while I found a house here.”

“Silas’ granddaughters,” Steel rumbled. “Their parents own Free.”

“Ahhhh,” Jessie nodded. “I understand.”

My brow rose. “Why do you know who they are?”

Jessie’s eyes, so much like his son’s eyes, turned to regard me slowly. “Free is a custom motorcycle shop. Sam is Silas’ son. Silas is the president of the Benton Chapter.”

I rolled my eyes. I knew who Silas was. Everyone knew who Silas was.

Not to mention, the three of them had yelled at Linc the night that he’d joined his current MC.

“I know who Silas is,” suddenly angry all over again. “He was one of the ones yelling at Linc that night that he joined the Bear Bottom Guardians. I remember quite clearly.”

There was an awkward silence as the two men held their tongues, trying to figure out something to say.

Then I felt Linc’s arm going around my waist and pulling me to him, my back to his front.

He had an erection, and I chose to let him press it against me rather than pointing out that he had one at all after what we’d just done. Then again, not saying anything in front of his father and my stepfather was probably for the best—especially when it was regarding putting our genitals together in front of them.

My stepfather’s eyes narrowed.

And that’s when I had it.

“What do you have against Linc, Steel?” I pushed. “Is there something wrong with him?”

Steel’s eyes narrowed. “Not necessarily, no.”

“Has he hurt your sensitive feelings in some way?” I pushed.

Steel crossed his arms over his chest as Linc tightened his arm around my waist, cautioning me.

I didn’t listen.

Maybe I should have.

“No,” Steel disagreed.

“So, what is it?” I asked. “Are you saying that there’s something that he’s doing that bothers you that much that you don’t want him with me?” I tilted my head. “Or is it because I’m not good enough for him?”

I saw something flicker in Steel’s eyes and knew that I’d just struck closer to home than I’d ever thought.

“It’s me you’re worried about,” I finally said. “You think that I’m going to do something wrong here.”

When Steel didn’t say anything, I knew that I had the right of it.

“I don’t think you’re going to do something wrong,” Steel said in exasperation. “I think that you’ve already had it rough and that you don’t need Linc’s bullshit catching up with you. I think that back then you had a choice, and that choice would’ve affected both of you negatively. You were both on different paths in life and being together might’ve made those paths tougher than they should’ve been. And let’s face it, honey, you were not the easiest teenager. You were awful, quite honestly. I wanted both of your heads to be in the right place, and they weren’t. Not to mention this bozo went and gave the finger to the Dixie Wardens’ name. They are still affiliated with us, but what was wrong with our club? And now, all these years later, the Guardians are still trying to prove themselves.”

I felt my lips twitch.

“So you’re saying that now that we’re together, you won’t complain anymore,” I finally got out. “But it still smarts that the chapter you intended to start up in Texas didn’t go the way you’d planned, and now that they branched off, finding their own niche in this world, you’re upset because y’all don’t get the recognition for it. It’s gotta burn that two professional football players are bringing new eyes to the world of motorcycle clubs, and y’all aren’t really a part of it.”